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In odd twist, industry agrees to ban 'microbeads'

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Modified: June 18, 2014 at 3:59 pm •
Published: June 18, 2014

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TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Environmentalists in Illinois expected a battle royal over their call for a statewide ban on "microbeads" — tiny bits of plastic used in personal care products such as facial scrubs and toothpaste that are flowing by the billions into the Great Lakes and other waterways. Discovered only recently, they're showing up inside fish that are caught for human consumption, scientists say.

FILE - In this 2012 file photo provided by 5gyres.org, a sample of "microbeads" collected in eastern Lake Erie is shown on the face of a penny. Illinois environmentalists expecting a battle with business over a call for a ban on the tiny bits of plastic used in personal care products, found the industry quickly collaborated. With similar bans pending in at least three other large states, the extinction of microbeads, now showing up inside fish that are caught for human consumption, is happening in an unusually short amount of time. (AP Photo/Courtesy 5gyres.org, Carolyn Box, File)

But instead of resisting, leading companies quickly collaborated on a ban that was enacted by the state legislature this spring. And with similar measures now pending in at least three other large states and in Congress, the extinction of microbeads is taking shape as one of the unlikeliest events in the politics of nature: a low-stress compromise by interest groups that are often at each other's throats.

"To have that happen in one year is rare," said Jen Walling of the Illinois Environmental Council, recalling the pessimistic response when she initially sought legislative sponsors. "I was not predicting we'd get it done at all."

Don't get used to it, said Mark Biel of the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois, which represented the product manufacturers during three months of negotiations. The quick deal resulted from unique circumstances, he said, including the availability of substitute ingredients.

"I just concluded that maybe this was one of those issues where it would be smart to try to work something out," he said.

Disagreements over details are delaying similar bills in California and New York, while a measure in Ohio has gained little traction. Still, all sides expect deals in most cases, and that given those states' outsized place in the market, microbeads will disappear from U.S. products as the industry swallows the cost.

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., a New Jersey Democrat, introduced a bill Wednesday proposing a nationwide ban that would take effect in 2018.

Environmentalists hope the collaborative experience carries over to debates concerning the Great Lakes' other ills. Biel's group last year helped scuttle a proposal to restrict flame retardants, which some consider an emerging contaminant in the freshwater seas. Still, he says the microbead talks nurtured a better working relationship, as have negotiations over fending off invasive species like the Asian carp.

"There is room for common ground," he said.

It's been known for years that the world's oceans teem with masses of floating plastic. But microplastics in the Great Lakes were discovered only when scientists dragged the surface of all five lakes in 2012 and 2013 with specially designed nets and found the specks everywhere.